


All On a Whim Really

by hioquiane



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dance, Domestic Fluff, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Multi, Mutual Pining, Partners to Lovers, Poly JNPR - Freeform, Slow Burn, all the main ships are established save for whiterose, it's for plot development I swear, like a tiny bit of angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-26
Updated: 2019-01-27
Packaged: 2019-10-15 23:37:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17538491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hioquiane/pseuds/hioquiane
Summary: Weiss Schnee. She’s heard the name, seen her performances (voluntarily and unvoluntarily, courtesy of Yang) and may or may not have crushed on her for a good year before she joined. Who could not crush on Weiss Schnee after all? It’s almost as bad as not crushing on Pyrrha Nikos.But that's not the point.What is the point is that Weiss Schnee has transferred to Beacon Academy and that if she is as a perfectionist the media says she is. Ruby is screwed. She might as well kiss her acceptance into the academy goodbye.





	1. Hooked On All These Feelings

“Reeen! Just let, me, see!”

Ren moves the clipboard out of Ruby’s grasping range, “No can do, you know the rules Ruby. No peaking.”

Ruby splutters, “I thought we were friends!” Ren raises a cynical brow.

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Friends,” Ruby jumps for the clipboard and Ren raises it over his head, again, “let friends-“ she growls, scrambling for his hand in vain “-see who their new partner for the states is!”

Ren smiles, “I don’t think that was a part of the contract.”

“There was no contract!” Ruby snaps before finally giving up and sliding down to the floor, “And contracts signed by minors aren’t legally binding!” she adds in for good measure.

“Doesn’t that, work against your case?” Nora asks, her shoes swinging dangerously close above Ruby’s hair.

Ruby scoots away from the woman, “You’re not helping.”

At that both Nora and Ren smirk, Ruby lets out another sigh before turning to the third member of JNPR, “Pyrrha-“

“Rules are rules Ruby.” Pyrrha cuts in, setting down the tray of coffee and passing a cup to Ruby.

“It wasn’t my fault that Ozpin made me transfer and leave my old partner!” she says, taking a sip of her coffee and savouring the sweetness.

“But it would be your fault if you snuck a look at the list and got caught.”

Nora hops off the counter, snatching two cups from Pyrrha’s hand, “Cheer up Rubes! At least you only have to worry about the one person you’re going to get paired up with!”

“And Ozpin didn’t make you transfer,” Ren adds, taking a cup from Nora’s hand as she pokes him on the nose, “he offered it after your performance and you said: quote, unquote ‘I’d want more than anything to have a place’.”

“Well he still could’ve offered it after states.” The coffee does its magic and the early-morning feeling leaves her veins and is replaced with over-sweetened caffeine, Pyrrha hums in agreement.

“It was rather, rash of him to offer the place with such little notice.”

“But then you wouldn’t have met us!” Nora quips, she springs up and waves to Jaune over Ruby’s head, “You missed Ruby fighting Ren over the roster!”

“Seriously?!”

“Parking trouble?” Pyrrha chuckles, sliding the last cup across the desk surface. Jaune catches it as it nears the edge and takes a grateful gulp.

“Oh, you know, the usual,” Jaune replies, wiping the foam off his lip as he continues, “good traffic, all smooth sailing, and then someone cuts in front of me and takes my spot.”

Nora sticks her tongue out, Jaune waves his free hand through the air in agreement, “I know, right?! I even woke up early to beat the usual rush.”

Ren tilts his head, his hair brushing Nora’s head, but the latter doesn’t seem to mind, “How long did it take for you to find another spot?”

“A while.” Jaune grumbles, Pyrrha ruffles his hair and his frown lifts slightly, “Also how come you were fighting for the roster?”

“Oh! That reminds me!”

Ren pales the moment Ruby turns to him, a gleam in her eyes that could only mean-

“Ruby-“

“-Gyah!”

He pulls the clipboard away a fraction of a second too slow but at least Ruby ends up falling flat on her face as payback.

“Got it.” Ruby says, waving the clipboard with one hand and pushing herself off the floor with the other. She glances back to Ren, “Aren’t you going to try and take it?”

“That is a battle I don’t want to fight before noon.” He replies, taking a sip of his only slightly spilt coffee.

Ruby casts a glance to the rest of JNPR, Pyrrha shrugs, Jaune takes a nonchalant sip of his coffee and Nora silently urges her to take a peak.

She purses her lips as she drags a finger deliberately down the list. Naturally it’s in alphabetical order and her name is at the very end of the first page.

“Let’s see. Rose, Ruby.” Her finger shifts to the right, tapping the nearby name, “Schnee, Weiss.”

Oh.

Oh no.

Schnee as in the world-renowned string of dance academies that produce only the best of the best all around the globe.

Schnee as in the extremely successful lineage of dancers that are apparently so prestigious they train in private. (Yes, even they’re too good for their own dance academy)

Weiss Schnee as in the dancing prodigy whose decision to leave the traditional private Schnee training for Beacon Dance Academy, a fact which Ruby helpfully forgot until now, drew in the media from at least 3 other countries.

“Well,” Pyrrha begins, “you have your answer now.”

“I’m doomed,” she deadpans, placing the clipboard in Ren’s open palm, “so, so doomed.”

Nora snorts, “Please, being partners with a Schnee can’t be that bad.”

“It’ll be bad,” Ruby says, still on the floor and back to leaning against the counter, “we’ve all seen her perform in real life at least once.”  


“Well except for Jaune but yeah.”

“Hey-“

“And not to mention the whole ‘perfectionist’ thing she has going for her.”

“Don’t forget to add the ‘horrible to work with’ thing!” Nora pipes in only to get shouldered by Ren.

Ruby brings up a third finger, “That too thanks Nor.”

Ren tilts his head, “Aren’t you being a little critical? You haven’t even met her.”

“And the media often overinflates any flaws someone has.” Pyrrha adds in, taking a slow sip from her coffee.

“Uh, the media says that you’re a literal angel and I find it really hard to disagree.”

“I said any flaws,” she says, hiding her smile by taking another sip, “you should’ve seen the critics if it seemed like I went off-beat.”

“Well screw the critics!” Nora butts in, “They don’t know you like we do.”

“And we know you as a literal angel.” Ren quips helpfully.

At that Pyrrha giggles, the early morning light streaming from the window nearby catching her blush. Ren gives a rare, smug smile, Nora mouths “It’s true,” and Jaune plants a kiss on the top of her red locks.

As it turns out, when Jaune catches feelings (and those feelings are reciprocated) he is very good at displaying them.

Ruby turns her head to the sliding doors, eyes brightening as she sees two more familiar faces enter the building.

“Yang! Blake! Help me I’m dealing with a crisis!”

Yang pauses halfway through her wave, dropping her hand in confusion. Blake just raises an amused brow.

“She peaked at the new roster list and is freaking out over being partnered with Weiss Schnee.” Jaune deadpans.

“I don’t think it counts as peaking if she nearly jumped me.” Ren replies.

Jaune shrugs, “Same difference.”

“The Weiss Schnee?” Blake asks, still looking half-amused, “You mean the one that both Yang and Ruby drooled over.”

“Still drools over, in Ruby’s case.”

“I do not-“ Ruby begins but Yang cuts her off by ruffling her hair.

“It’s okay Rubes.” She pats her head affectionately and Ruby grumbles, “We accept your dumb gay ass as long as you can admit it.”

“It’s too early in the morning for you to bully me.”

“Correction,” Yang prods Ruby’s cheek, “it is always time for me to bully you,” she pauses to think, finger still squishing Ruby’s cheek, “and vice-versa, because I’m nice.”

Ruby snorts, pushing Yang’s arm away, “You’re an ass.”

“I’m the ass, thank you very much.” Yang yawns, giving Ruby’s forehead a final flick before leaning on Blake, “Blake can confirm, she’s seen-“

Blake cuts her girlfriend off with a sharp elbow jab in the stomach, “I love you but please stop talking.”

Yang lets out a gasp, followed by a dramatic hand over her heart, “Babe, the love of my life, why would you hurt me like thi-“

This time, she’s cut off by Nora, “I love you, no homo, but I’ve got to agree here.”

It’s the final straw on the camel’s back and the entire group collapses into a synchronised mess of snorts, chuckles and laughs. For a moment Ruby’s worry still lingers but it quickly dissipates when Blake hides a snort behind her hand.

Maybe Ruby doesn’t have to worry so much after all.

* * *

Ruby gulps. Then gulps again for good measure.

The curved sheen of sweat layered on her legs gives way to toned muscles, tensing and relaxing as she flows. To-and-fro. From one side to the other.

If Ruby wasn’t already breathless from running to the room, then Weiss would have taken her breath away and left her on the floor dead.

She tears her eyes away from her white hair, down from her torso to her calves. Toned muscles meant that she was no stranger to dance. Toned muscles meant that she had probably spent years practising. Toned muscles also meant that Weiss Schnee really did live up to her name.

They had all gone their separate ways when late morning turned to early afternoon. JNPR to a large room on the first floor, and Yang and Blake to a room on the second so they could practise for states. (Not like they need to, thinks Ruby, the two of them practically share the same heartbeat)

The song that Weiss dances to is a favourite of hers. The repetitive beat, the vocals, the music that could be easily sent to the back of her head. It was the song she danced to that earned her a spot in Beacon in the first place.

And now she sees Weiss dancing to it. Their styles are practically opposite of the other’s. Where the Schnee goes on her toes, Ruby dips to the floor. Where the Schnee goes from a spin to a jump, Ruby’s movements turn from fluid to sudden.

Where Weiss Schnee is absolutely perfect; Ruby is absolutely, not.

For a moment, her movements grow jagged. Frozen in the perfect moment. Ruby can see the places where sweat leaves a sheen on her skin. Where the room’s white light captures the tiny freckles that are scattered across her shoulders.

It’s as if the entire world stops for her. Pauses with her. Flows with her.

And then she’s moving again. The room breathes again. Ruby breathes again.

Weiss’ movements are like breathing. In and out. Never stopping completely. Never growing jagged. Just in and out. Even when she pauses, when her arms jar it still seems like she’s moving.

And when she jumps. For the single second she is in the air. She floats. Her legs perfectly straight. Her arms. Curved to a precise angle and moment.

She lands with just as much grace. Her legs bend at the right moment, pillowing her descent. It’s like watching a swan on water. Completely in its element. Completely seamless.

It’s beautiful. It’s awe-inspiring. It’s.

A terrifying revelation.

Ruby didn’t mean to watch Weiss from a gap in the door, it was a coincidence that the Schnee had chosen the room next to hers for practise.

Ruby didn’t mean to stop, mid-run, back-track at the sound of Hailey Kiyoko and gape in the hallway.

It was not a coincidence that Ruby had decided to watch her new partner but then again, who wouldn’t want to catch a sight of a Schnee practising?

Weiss Schnee. She’s heard the name, seen her performances (voluntarily and unvoluntarily, courtesy of Yang) and may or may not have crushed on her for a good year before she joined. Who could not crush on Weiss Schnee after all? It’s almost as bad as not crushing on Pyrrha Nikos.

Well, Jaune didn’t have a crush on Pyrrha until half a year ago. But that’s not the point! Jaune’s oblivious anyway!

What is the point is that Weiss Schnee has transferred to Beacon Academy and that if she is as a perfectionist the media says she is. Ruby is screwed. She might as well kiss her acceptance into the academy goodbye.

Apparently Ruby does have to worry a bit after all.


	2. The Novelties Don't Ever Change

“Didn’t we already do that song a year ago?”

Ren pauses, lips pursed as Nora puts her face between him and the laptop screen. The song did sound familiar, maybe it’s the beat, maybe it’s the vocals, he shrugs.

“It was for the spring regionals,” Nora mumbles, eyes narrowing in thought. She shifts, and Ren raises his arms so that her head lies on his lap, “Or maybe we did something with a similar beat.”

Ren shrugs again. Nora turns her head so that she looks up at him, “And even if we use it, you’d have to rechoreograph it to fit in Jaune and Pyrrha.”

She pauses, idly fiddling with a lock of his hair, “Not like it’d be hard, you’re Lie Ren! Master choreographer, even better dancer.” Ren snorts, Nora boops him on the chin (she would go for the nose, but her arms are short, and she’s too lazy to reach up), “But even master choreographers don’t like rechoreographing.”

“Can confirm, I don’t want a repeat of The Leg Incident” He mumbles, swatting away Nora’s hand before scrolling further down the playlist, “we need something to accommodate Jaune and Pyrrha’s styles.” The cursor lingers on Sunburn but he moves down the list, “We could try something like-“

“That one!”

Nora slams her hand a bit too hard on the screen, repeatedly tapping on the song (Ren’s glad that he didn’t choose to buy a touchscreen laptop), “That one’s good, I can see it now!”

“I can’t see it if your hand is blocking it.” He replies calmly.

Nora grumbles, sliding out of Ren’s lap and pecking him on the cheek, “Trust me,” she says with a grin, “it’s a good one.”

“So, you want me to play it?”

“Well duh!” Nora jumps out, hands on hips and balancing on the balls of her feet, “Also I said I was sorry about The Leg Incident!”

“Tell that to me 2 years ago and maybe I’ll forgive you for it.” Ren replies. He can picture Nora sticking her tongue out at him so (logically) he turns his head and does the same. In turn Nora fakes a gasp and mirrors the same look of ‘betrayal’ Yang had an hour ago. Ren snorts and presses play.

The first thing Ren notices about the song is that it is perfectly Nora-esque. The horns blasting through the speakers catch his ear first, but Nora seems more focussed on the percussion. For the first few beats she bounces on her toes before buckling her knees and using the momentum to execute a near-perfect backflip.

He knows fully well she’ll end up taking it out of the dance, but it’s a move she almost always begins with when working out a song. 

She moves her shoulders to the quickening beat. Knees still bent before the first string of vocals land. The instrumental ends the moment she balances on her heels, legs and arms moving in sync. Nora’s style is a mix of wide arcs and jabbing motions with nearly no inbetween. She switches between the two as the second set of horns play before pausing for a breath.

Unsurprisingly, the break is short-lived. The strings are quick, jarring strokes and so Nora does the same with her arms. Sharp to long. Short to soft. Her legs take steps that look more like half-skips. Back and forth. Left and right.

As the beat slows, Ren stands and joins.

Their styles from first glance are completely opposite of the other’s. But as they dance, one seems to accommodate with the other. It’s not a melody and its harmony, thinks Ren before he takes Nora’s open hand and spins her, it’s two melodies, coincidentally in the same key, with the same beat. They both stand out from the other, but they never clash.

Two anomalies that happen to be on the same frequency.

The song nears its end and the two straighten before bowing. A timeless tradition they’ve had since they were kids. Nora says he started it whenever someone asks but in reality, she did it first as a lighthearted joke that decided to stay with them.

“Well?” Nora begins, leaning on her toes, back still bowed, “You think the other two can handle it?”

Can international champion Pyrrha Nikos handle it? Yes, without hesitation, they’ve all seen her dance before and after she arrived at the Academy. Her style isn’t as calculated as someone like the new Schnee, but she pinpoints her steps with an accuracy akin to an Olympic archer. She had no trouble fitting into their team, and she and Nora only butted heads over coffee preferences now.

Can Jaune ‘still figuring out his style’ Arc handle it? Yes, with some hesitation, he arrived at the Academy at the same time as Pyrrha. Unlike Pyrrha, however, he’s completely new to the dance scene, and still would be had it not been for the rest of the team’s prompting. Ren knows he’s improved drastically (courtesy of Pyrrha’s training, bless her) and even if he was still figuring out he moved to music; they all knew he could handle it.

“Yes,” Ren says, a smile on his face, back now straight, “I think they can.”

As if on cue the door clicks open and Pyrrha walks through with Jaune and a box of donuts on her tail. “It sounded like you two were having fun,” she hums, setting down her own box before motioning with her head to Ren’s laptop, “did you finally decide what song we’re doing?”

“First of all, yes. Second of all,” she points an accusing finger at Jaune, “did you get the ones with the sprinkles?”

Jaune does a double-take, pointing between himself, Nora, then to the two boxes of donuts, “We held a group meeting without you and decided that you’re not allowed to have the caffeine sprinkles but-“ Jaune holds up a silencing hand as Nora opens her mouth, “-I did get you the multi-coloured ones you like.”

“If it helps, we put it to a vote,” Ren adds, placing a hand on her shoulder as he takes a bite out of a donut with the other, “Jaune and I voted against the caffeine and Pyrrha voted for.”

“Renny I thought you loved me!” Nora cries and Pyrrha snorts into her donut while Jaune lets out a wheeze and leans into the door.

“I do,” Ren agrees, pressing a sugar-covered finger on her nose, “which is exactly why I do not want a repeat of the Slip in Time and Space Incident.”

“Wait, wait,” Jaune snickers, still clutching his heart as he clears his throat, “the first one or second one?”

“The one where Nora entered a dimension where Pyrrha was a goddess and there was a giant bronze statue of her in the garden across Jaune’s lesbian sister’s house.”

Pyrrha taps a finger on her chin in thought, “So, the second one?”

“The second one.” Ren confirms.

* * *

 

“So,” Blake begins, her face hidden as she continues stretching, “you, Ruby Rose, decided to watch Weiss Schnee practise instead of actually practising. And now you’re even more psyched out than before?”

Ruby winces but still nods, “That’s basically the gist of it.”

Blake nods, rolling her head back before leaning on the wall, she pauses and Ruby feels herself leaning in for her answer. Blake smiles, “That sounds like something Yang would do.”

“It’s true but you shouldn’t say it!” Yang calls from the other side of the room. She pauses, chewing the inside of her cheek before closing her laptop and turning so that she could see both her sister and girlfriend, “Are you sure she was as entirely perfect as you say?”

Ruby closes her eyes and thinks. She thinks of Weiss Schnee’s perfectly toned legs tensing and untensing when the time was right, when the time was perfect. She thinks of the spread of freckles across Weiss Schnee’s shoulders that seemed like tiny stars perfectly spread apart. She thinks of Weiss Schnee’s hair, perfectly white and perfectly put into a perfectly assymetrical ponytail.

Ruby thinks of Weiss Schnee and decides that even if Yang, or Blake, or Nora, or even Pyrrha were to point out that maybe her views are skewed, Ruby wouldn’t care. Because she knows, Weiss Schnee is perfect.

“Yes,” she states, silver eyes gleaming with a confidence she wishes would stay with her, “she was absolutely perfect.”

The only thing that stops her from gushing anymore is the fact that Ruby had inadvertently opened the floodgates for Blake and Yang.

“Aww,” Yang begins, there’s a shine to her eyes that scream ‘I’m going to tease the ever-living shit out of my sister’, “I can’t believe my baby sister still has a crush on Weiss Schnee.”

“After all this time too,” Blake purrs, “maybe it really was love at first sight when you forced Ruby to watch her videos all those years ago.” She sits up straighter, the two buns on her hair bumping on the mirrored wall as she gives Ruby’s shoulders (now turning scarlet) a reassuring pat, “Don’t worry Ruby, give it three months and you’ll be over her in no time.”

“What?! No-“ Ruby scoots away from Blake’s touch with inhuman speed, “-No, absolutely not.” She crosses her arms and hides her face from both women, “Nuh-uh, no way in hell.”

“What are you even denying?” Yang teases further, “You sound like a nine year-old trying to tell her parents she isn’t going to bed on her curfew.”

“I do not,” Ruby negates, crossing her arms further, “and I’m not saying what I was trying to deny because that would only work for your case.” Yang’s knowing smirk only further proves the point against her and where Blake usually swoops in and turns the tables, she remains smugly silent.

“Shouldn’t you guys be practising? Have you chosen your song already?”

Either Yang takes the bait or she’s trying to find a way to embarrass her more, “We chose in the first 5 minutes.”

“I chose in the first 5 minutes,” Blake interjects, but there’s a smile on her face as she continues, “we set the playlist on shuffle, then did a staring contest.” She looks proud of herself as she finishes, “I won.”

Ruby throws her sister a sceptical look, “You always lose at staring contests against Blake, why’d you think you’d win this time?”

Blake interrupts her girlfriend for the second time, “She thought that trying to kiss me would help her-“ she raises a halting hand as Yang opens her mouth to argue back, “-I blinked first, but I still win by default.”

Yang huffs, joining Ruby in pouting and slouching – it’s moments like these that remind Blake the two are sisters by blood and not just pettiness – “I still think I should’ve won.”

“And pick Kehlani over Janelle Monae? No way.”

“Wha- Honey is literally the first song we danced to when we debuted as a duo!”

“Pynk was the song I caught you drooling at when I was dancing,” Blake points out, “it’s practically the same song that got you back into dancing after you got your prosthetic.”

At the mention of Yang’s metal arm it seems to gleam even brighter in the room’s light. The yellow metal reflecting onto her blonde hair and smug grin, “Okay, I’ll admit that,” she flexes it in the air – maybe attempting to direct the light into her sister’s eyes – “but how come we couldn’t choose something like Curious?”

“Because Hailey Kiyoko is my thing.” Ruby butts in, Blake shoots her a smile.

“And apparently Weiss Schnee’s thing as well.”

“And apparently Weiss Schnee’s thing as well,” Ruby parrots before sighing and falling unceremoniously to the floor, “but for all I know it might’ve been a one-off thing! Most of her performances are like-“ she gestures in vain to find the right words “-contemporary ballet!”

“Well yeah but she’s been uploading less videos over the past 6 months,” Yang hums, eyes still lingering over her metal fingers before focussing on her sister, “people change Ruby.”

“It just,” Ruby struggles with her words again, “didn’t seem fitting of her previous routines.”

But it was still perfect, she adds to herself.

“Don’t worry your head over it for now,” Yang says, leaning back on the wall and mirroring Blake’s crossed legs, “she probably has a side to her she doesn’t show.”

“Can’t blame her,” Blake replies, “if most of your life is spent being completely idolised and seen by the world as untouchable, there’s no way you can’t-“

The door slams open before she can finish, the wind from the motion brushing half of Ruby’s hair to the left before she has a chance to react. White hair, somehow still in its meticulous form catches her eye before she has a change to shout.

“Has anyone seen a girl named-” Weiss Schnee huffs, out of breath but still desperate to finish, “-has anyone seen a girl named Ruby Rose?”

Ruby decides that Weiss is a lot prettier up close and not framed by a half-ajar door.

At the lack of response Weiss lets out an irritated sigh, “I’ve been searching the building for half an hour, does anyone know where she is?”

Yang’s the first to break out of her stupor, immediately going back to her original posture “Yup.” She says, too casual for someone meeting her old idol, “The pipsqueak on the floor.”

When Weiss’ eyes flit down to hers she feels her breath hitch. The room stands still. Yang and Blake are swallowed by the mirrored walls. Whatever irritation on Weiss’ face immediately dies. Replaced by confusion as she eyes Ruby. Weiss Schnee stares at her. And Ruby stares back.

“Oh.”

**Author's Note:**

> Dance AUs are my guilty pleasure don't @ me.


End file.
